Power operator for elevator shaft doors

ABSTRACT

A power operator for elevator shaft doors is disclosed which utilizes the opening and closing movement of the car door for opening and closing the shaftway door at a selected landing, the operator including a vane, mounted on the elevator car, operated by movement of the car door, and engageable with an operating member on the shaft door for effecting opening and closing. The vane is mounted and actuated to accommodate engagement and disengagement under conditions which represent a departure from ideal operating conditions encountered in practice.

United States Patent DeFeo Oct. 7, 1975 [54] POWER OPERATOR FOR ELEVATOR 3,051,269 8/1962 Guilbert 187/60 SHAFT DOORS Primary Examiner-Evon C. Blunk. [75] Inventor. John J. DeFeo, Blackwood, NJ. Assistant Examiner james L. Rowland [73] Assignee: American Sterilizer Company, Attorney, Agent, or FirmZachary T. Wobensmith, ll;

Philadelphia, Pa. Zachary T. Wobensmith, Ill

[22] Filed: Dec. 16, 1974 ABSTRACT [21] Appl' 532,768 A power operator for elevator shaft doors is disclosed which utilizes the opening and closing movement of 52 us. (:1 1s7/52 LC; 187/60 the ear deer fer Opening. and closing the Shaftway 51] int. cl. B66B 13/12 door at a Selected landing, the Operator iheludihg a 58 Field of Search 187/51, 52, 56, 5s, 60; vane, mounted on the elevator ear, Operated by move- 49/65 ment of the car door, and engageable with an operating member on the shaft door for effecting opening 5 References Cited and closing. The vane is mounted and actuated to ac- UNITED STATES PATENTS commodate engagement and disengagement under 1 961 I88 6/1934 A 187/52 LC conditions which represent a departure from ideal open 2,497,080 2/l950 Guilbenm 187/52 LC eratmg cond1t1ons encountered 1n pract1ce. 2,633,932 4/1953 Clift 187/60 X 9 Claims,-4 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 1 of4 US. Patent 0a. 7,1975 Sheet 2 of4 3,910,384

U.S. Pawnt Oct. 7,1975 Sheet 3 of4 3,910,384

U.S. Patent Oct.'7,1975 Sheet4 0f4 3,910,384

POWER OPERATOR FOR ELEVATOR SHAFT DOORS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to operators for elevator shaftway or hoistway doors to effect simultaneous operation of the hoistway door with the car door.

2. Description of the Prior Art Various power operators have heretofore been proposed by which a vertical rising or sliding door of an elevator car or dumbwaiter is employed to operate a shaftway door or doors.

It has heretofore been proposed in the US. Pat. No. 3,051,269 to Guilbert and DeFeo, to operate a shaftway door from a car door employing a gripper device on the hatchway door which is engaged by a pivotally mounted cam controlled swinging vane plate. That structure required that the car be stopped before the doors were opened but did work satisfactorily with overlapping hatch door panels.

Berkovitz, in US. Pat. No. 3,447,637, shows a power.

operator for shaftway doors which employs a vane and slot arrangement with a complicated drive system to convert the linear horizontal motion to linear vertical motion for shaftway door operation and has a complicated cable arrangement to keep the doors from jamming because of force application on one side only.

The present invention does not require the structural complexity of the Berkovitz device and has advantageous features not available in either the Berkovitz or the Guilbert and DeFeo patent disclosures identified above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the invention a power operator is provided for elevator shaftway doors by movement of the elevator car door, utilizing a cam controlled spring loaded vane carried by the'car door engaging a pin on the shaftway door, the vane being mounted to shift if necessary for leveling engagement and reengagement and for disengagement with a minimal amount of relative movement. The force required for disengagement is dependent on the spring load.

It is the principal object of the present invention to provide an improved operator for a vertically movable or sliding shaftway door, which may be either a single door or an upper door or doors of the bi-parting type, wherein the movement of a car carried device is effective, upon opening of a car carried door, either of the single section or bi-parting type, to open the shaftway door or doors.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a car carried door operating device which is normally held in retracted position when the car carried door is closed, and which is moved, upon movement of the car carried door, to a position to engage a pin on a shaftway door and move the shaftway door to an open position.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved operator for a shaftway door which is adapted for varying leveling engagement, above or below a perfect level position of the car.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved operator for a shaftway door which includes an engaging vane mounted to accommodateengagement and disengagement under conditions which represent a departure from ideal operating conditions.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a shaftway door operating device which is simple in construction, reliable in its operation and which can be readily installed upon car and shaftway doors now in use, without interfering with conventional safety interlocks and the like now employed on the shaftway doors and cars.

It is a'further object of the invention to provide a door operator with which a balanced force application is effective on a shaftway door for opening and closing the shaftway door upon movement of an elevator ca door.

Other objects and advantageous features of themvention will be apparent from the description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF'THE DRAWINGS The nature and characteristic features of the invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming part thereof, in which: I

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a portion of a shaftway and shaftway door and of an elevator car and car door showing the power operator in an inactive position; I

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing .the power operator vane advancing for engagement;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2 showing the power operator in operating position; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawings herein are illustrative merely, andthat various modifications and changes can be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Like nunerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The power operator of the present invention is suitable for a vertically movable or sliding shaftway door consisting of a single door or an upper door or doors of the biparting interconnected type and wherein the movement of a car carried door, either of the single section or biparting type is utilized-for opening and closing of the shaftway door. Such doors are well known, and the Guilbert and DeFeo US. Pat. No. 3,051,269 shows typical car and shaftway doors.

Referring now to the drawings, a vertical wall 10 is illustrated having a vertically slidable hoistway or shaftway door 11 movable in vertical guideways 12 and which may have a lower door 11a connected thereto for reverse movement with respect thereto. v

The door 11, and preferably on each side for balanced force application has a bracket 13 with a horizontally disposed pin 14.having a rotatable sleeve 14a for engagement for vertical hoistway door movement.

A portion of an elevator car door 15 is illustrated vertically slidable with respect to the elevator car C for opening and closing movement. The motor operated structure (not shown) for opening and closing the door 15 can be of well known type and forms no part of the present invention. i

The car door 15, preferably on each side edge thereof, is provided with a frame 16 which carries an,

upper pivot pin 17. The pivot pin 17 has pivotally mounted thereon a vane supporting arm 18 and has a rear edge portion 19 which serves as a limit stop.

The arm 18 has a projection 21 for spring attachment.

The arm 18, spaced from the pivot pin 17, has a vane pivot pin carried thereby to pivotally support and control the positioning of a vane 25.

The vane 25 forwardly of its rear edge 26 carries a resilient bumper 27 for engagement by the edge 19 and has rotatably carried thereon, on a shaft 28, a cam follower roller 29.

The vane 25, opposite the rear edge 26 has an inwardly extending slot 30 for engagement with and disengagement from the sleeve 14a on the pin 14. The vane 25 has aligned front edge portions 31 and 31a on opposite sides of the slot 30 from which inclined edge portions 32 and 32a extend.

The vane 25 has a tail portion 33 with a rear edge 34, and inclined end edge 35 and transverse edge 36, and an outer or front edge 37.

A resilient bumper 40, carried at a fixed location on the car door 15, serves as an abutment and as a fulcrum for engagement by the outer or front edge 37.

The tail portion 33 has one end of a tension spring 42 engaged therewith, the other end being engaged in the projection 21, and tending to advance the vane 25. The spring force of the tension spring 42 is selected in accordance with the force desired for movement of the vane 25.

At a fixed location on the car a cam mounting plate 44 is provided, adjustable by elongated slots 45 with which bolts 46 engage. The plate 44 has a vane retraction roller 47 carried thereon for engagement by the rear edge 34 and has a strip cam 50 secured thereto. The cam 50 has an angularly disposed portion 50a for inward and outward movement of the vane 25 and a straight vertical locking portion 50b, for engagement by the cam follower roller 29.

The mode of operation will now be pointed out.

Assume that the car door 15 and the shaftway door 10 are in closed positions as illustrated in FIG; 1.

The vane 25 is in a retracted position and is held in that position by the engagement of the cam follower roller 29 with the portion 50b of the cam 50. In this position, also, the rear edge 34 of the tail portion 33 is in engagement with the retraction roller 47. The vane supporting arm 18 is tilted and the spring 42 is extended so as to exert its maximum force.

if now, the elevator car C arrives at a hoistway or shaftway door 10 and opening of doors 10 and 15 is desired the car door 15 is caused in a well known manner to start to open. The upward movement of the car door 15 with respect to the car C moves the vane 25 and its associated structure upwardly with respect to the car carried cam 50.

The upward car door movement permits the cam follower roller 29 to move along the cam portion a. The spring 42, acting on the arm 18 tends to move the arm 18 counterclockwise as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 about the pivot pin 17 and through the pivot pin 20 moves the vane 25 outwardly, supported by the arm 18 and with the cam follower 29 urged into engagement with the cam portion 500, by the force of the spring 42.

The car door 15 continues its upward movement with further advance of the vane 45 to engage the sleeve 14a on the pin 14 in the slot 30. Following this, further upward movement of the door 15 is effective to raise the hatchway door 11.

For proper operation the vane 25 should be moved outwardly for engagement with the pin 14 at an early point of upward movement of the car door 15.

If for some reason, with the vane 25 advanced the pin 14 has not been engaged, and either the shaftway door 11 is open or the car C starts to move, the pin 14 dependent upon its relative position engages either with the edge portion 32 or 31 or with the edge portion 32a or 31a, dependent upon the direction of travel, so that the vane 25 is pushed inwardly until the continuance of travel permits the pin 14 to enter and engage in the slot 30. The pivotal connections at the pivot pin 20 and at the pivot pin 17 permit this accommodating movement.

If while the vane slot 30 is engaged with the pin 14 the hatchway door 11 is obstructed in its movement or if the elevator car C starts to move, the vane 25 will disengage itself from the pin 14, dependent upon the movement of the door 15 relative to the door 10.

1f the relative movement of car door 15 to hoistway door 10 is up, the vane 25 and arm 18 pivot as a unit around the axis provided by the pivot pin 17 and disengagement is effected with a minimal amount of relative motion.

If the relative movement of the car door 15 to hoistway door 10 is down the pin 14 causes the vane 25 to pivot counterclockwise about a fulcrum point provided by engagement of the outer edge 37 with the bumper 40 while at the same time the arm 18 rotates clockwise about the pivot pin 17 until the pin 14 is disengaged. The amount of force required for disengagement is dependent upon the force exerted by the spring 42.

In normal operation when it is desired to close the doors 10 and 15, the door 15 is actuated to return it to its initial closed position and close the door 10.

When the hoistway door 10 is almost in closed position the cam follower roller 29 contacts the cam portion 50a and retraction of vane 25 is initiated as a reversal of the advancing movement. The vane 25 and arm 18 pivot as a unit around the pivot pin 17 until the tail portion 33 contacts the retraction roller 47. Further closing movement of the car door 15 causes the vane 25 to reverse its rotation and thus full retraction is obtained. The final disengagement is augmented by the cam portion 50b so that the hoistway door 10 must be closed before the vane 25 is disengaged.

it will thus be seen that power control of door opening and closing with simultaneous action is effected with accommodation to leveling and reengagement problems which may arise.

I claim: '1. Door operating mechanism for a vertically slidable hoistway door in an elevator hatchway having an eleva-' tor car therein with a vertically slidable car door comprising an actuating member on said hoistway door engageable for effecting movement of said'hoistway door,

a pivotally mounted vane support member carried by and movable with the car door,

a vane member pivotally mounted to said support.

member and movable to and from a position for engagement with said actuating member,

said vane member and said actuating member having interengageable portions for simultaneously moving said doors,

a cam member mounted on said car and with respect to which said vane support member and vane member are movable and having a portion for controlling the positioning of said vane member in one direction with respect to its engaged position, and

a resilient member connecting said vane member and said support member for controlling the positioning of said vane member in at least one direction with respect to its engaged position.

2. Door operating mechenism as defined in claim 1 in which said vane support member comprises a pivotally supported arm.

3. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said actuating member is a horizontally disposed pin,

and

said vane member has a slotted portion for engagement with said horizontally disposed pin,

4. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 3 in which said vane has guide surfaces extending from said slotted portion for aiding seating of said pin in said slot.

5. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said vane member has a cam follower roller for engagement with said cam member.

6. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said resilient member is a tension spring.

7. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said cam member has a portion for holding said vane member against movement toward its engaged position. 8. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which I an auxiliary fulcrum is provided for engagement by a portion of said vane for retraction of said vane. 9. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said vane support member comprises a pivotally sup ported arm, 7

said actuating member is a horizontally disposed pin,

said vane has a slotted portion for engagement with said pin,

said vane member has a cam follower roller for engagement with said cam member,

said resilient member is a tension spring urging said cam follower roller into engagement with said cam member,

said vane member has a tail portion extending therefrom, and

a plurality of spaced auxiliary fulcrums are provided for engagement by said tail portion,

said vane member being swingable with said pivotally supported arm and selectively swingable in the same or in the opposite direction with respect thereto for engagement or disengagement of said pin with respect to said slotted portion. 

1. Door operating mechanism for a vertically slidable hoistway door in an elevator hatchway having an elevator car therein with a vertically slidable car door comprising an actuating member on said hoistway door engageable for effecting movement of said hoistway door, a pivotally mounted vane support member carried by and movable with the car door, a vane member pivotally mounted to said support member and movable to and from a position for engagement with said actuating member, said vane member and said actuating member having interengageable portions for simultaneously moving said doors, a cam member mounted on said car and with respect to which said vane support member and vane member are movable and having a portion for controlling the positioning of said vane member in one direction with respect to its engaged position, and a resilient member connecting said vane member and said support member for controlling the positioning of said vane member in at least one direction with respect to its engaged position.
 2. Door operating mechenism as defined in claim 1 in which said vane support member comprises a pivotally supported arm.
 3. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said actuating member is a horizontally disposed pin, and said vane member has a slotted portion for engagement with said horizontally disposed pin,
 4. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 3 in which said vane has guide surfaces extending from said slotted portion for aiding seating of said pin in said slot.
 5. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said vane member has a cam follower roller for engagement with said cam member.
 6. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said resilient member is a tension spring.
 7. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said cam member has a portion for holding said vane member against movement toward its engaged position.
 8. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which an auxiliary fulcrum is provided for engagement by a portion of said vane for retraction of said vane.
 9. Door operating mechanism as defined in claim 1 in which said vane support member comprises a pivotally supported arm, said actuating member is a horizontally disposed pin, said vane has a slotted portion for engagement with said pin, said vane member has a cam follower roller for engagement with said cam member, said resilient member is a tension spring urging said cam follower rollEr into engagement with said cam member, said vane member has a tail portion extending therefrom, and a plurality of spaced auxiliary fulcrums are provided for engagement by said tail portion, said vane member being swingable with said pivotally supported arm and selectively swingable in the same or in the opposite direction with respect thereto for engagement or disengagement of said pin with respect to said slotted portion. 